Ugly No More!

So as I sat here pinning tonight on Pinterest I wondered how many crafts/projects that are pinned on here actually come out like the picture pinned? I mean honestly have you ever seen a bad pin? Well I have extra scrapbook paper lying around and tomorrow I plan on finding out!
I have one of those plastic 5 drawer organizers in my kitchen and it comes in extremely handy. For the most part it is organized but when you look at it because the drawers are clear it just looks cluttered! And since having baby numero 2 the clutter around the house has made me even more OCD!

So here the link to the pin that I will be undertaking tomorrow! Come back to see the before and after pictures!!

Modge Podge Drawers

Who Loves a Good Deal?!?!

Sillly question I'm sure! But this is such a good deal! Restaurant.com has gift certificates for local restaurants and they are on sale for super cheap! I bought some gift certificates when they were going for $3 dollars and I can't believe they lowered it to $1 now! Obviously there is some fine print to read before you buy but it is such a good deal to pass up! It ends on Christmas Eve so get to shopping!

$1 certificates from Restaurant.com

Christmas Gift Tags

Since we are all probably scrambling to wrap our presents so we aren't up til after midnight on Christmas Eve here is a cute idea to do for the gift tags. Seems really simple and I am sure anyone with kids has construction paper if you don't have any scrapbook paper!

Cute Gift Tags!

Happy Pinning!

Wonderful use for old Frames

Ok so I know that I have like a million picture frames in all shapes and size and colors but never have room for all of them in my house so they sit in the attic collecting dust. Well I think this is a wonderful idea to do around the house! You can put scrapbook paper as a background and then whatever else you want for the focal point of the frame! It would be a cute addition to my kid's rooms and it seems super cheap! 

Reuse Old Frames

Just Pin it!

Free Carseat Canopy!!

I know the minute I see the word free on anything I immediately start to read it. Well if you have a baby still in a rear facing carseat this is perfect especially with the winter months ahead it can really get cold for baby. And if you struggle like I do to keep the blanket from blowing off the carseat then you will really love this.

carseatcanopy.com has a code for a free carseat canopy. It is WTECHRISTMAS. The canopies are normally 50 dollars but with the code you only have to pay for shipping. Good deal so go take advantage of it!!

Homemade Snow Globes

My daughter is obsessed with snow globes. So much so that anytime we go to a new state or we have friends or family that goes somewhere she will ask them for a snow globe from that state if she doesn't have one from there. 

I she will love to make her own snow globe. Not only is it another one to her collection but the fact that she is making it I am sure she will remember it that much more than the other ones. I also like that idea that you can make it from any glass jar so you can have different sizes. 

Happy Crafting!

Homemade Snow Globes

To Pin or Not to Pin....

Pinterest is the latest internet sharing website that allows people to "pin" things they find on the web or they can upload a pin as well. You can follow people's boards that they pin their finds on as well as view other pins by people you don't follow. Oh and did I mention how addictive this website. I can sit for hours and pin things. I view it as my online window shopping and brings out my inner crafter fanatic! 

So with that being said I am going to start a Pin of the Day. Something that I have pinned on Pinterest or found on Pinterest that I think is really cool, easy to make or something I would like in my house, etc. And with that being said here is my first Pin of the Day. Enjoy!

Peppermint Foot Soak

This is absolutely wonderful because I know I am guilty of neglecting my feet in the winter since I don't wear flip flops! It is a must try!

Don't you ever wish...

Don't you ever wish that you had your kids closer in age? I hear that ALL the time and I can honestly answer that question with a resounding no! I realize that everyone is different but to me having my kids any closer in age and I am pretty sure I would have lost my mind. Let me give you a little background on everything before I go on. 

My dad and step mom did foster care because they weren't able to have kids of their own. They took in babies and at one point there were 5 kids under the age of 5 at my house while I was in high school. Crazy...yes! I helped out a lot of course and it wasn't hard at all. Now fast forward 10 years. My oldest is 5 1/2 and I have just come home from my deployment to Iraq in 2009 and my baby fever was at its highest. I had been wanting another baby for a good two years and would just joke around with my husband about it almost to judge which way he was going on the idea. Of course he was always more towards the idea of "the one we have is plenty and she is so full of energy." 

Well when I got back home from the desert I decided to sit down and have the serious "I want another baby" talk with him. It didn't go as I had planned and I knew in the back of my mind that there was going to be resistance from him. Because we couldn't seem to work through out disagreement over the subject on our own we decided to try counseling. I have always been a big supporter of counseling! I hate the stigma that surrounds counseling, the "oooohhh, you go to counseling" or that look you get when you mention it to someone. No you aren't crazy because you go to counseling. You are brave because you are trying to work through your problems head on. 

Anyways our first counseling session didn't quite go as well as planned. We had a female therapist in training (she had been a therapist for years but was new to the office so she did have the session herself and then a senior therapist from the office would come in for the second half.) and seemed to be good and listened to each of our sides of the story intently. The senior therapist came in to see how the session was going and she was also a female. In a matter of minutes my poor husband was bombarded by these two women about the importance of children, and how much that mothering, nurturing need I was feeling was very important. Of course I secretly wanted our therapist to be on my side...who wouldn't!! But I knew in my mind that it wouldn't be fair if we didn't have someone who remained impartial. 

So we scheduled our next session and made sure to change therapists and that was the best idea ever. Now I am not going to go into detail about the rest of our sessions because there needs to be some discretion. But the counselor told us from the beginning this isn't a conflict that you can compromise on. Someone is going to get their way and someone isn't. Very true. In the end we decided to wait 6 months and then start trying. It would give my husband time to adjust to the idea of having another kid. A baby. Starting from the beginning again. And also time to decide on financial things as well. We both realized that no matter how much planning and forethought is put into this that you will never be truly ready. Well 5 months after we started trying we got pregnant and now sitting next to me is the wonderfully beautiful 2 month baby girl that neither of us would trade for anything in the world. 

Now that I am mom to two beautiful girls it is so wonderful to have my older one there that if I need her to do something while I am bf Olivia she can do it for me. Or if I need her to hold the door open when we go somewhere she is there to help. And surprisingly her favorite...she likes to change diapers! Win for me! 

And a little FYI I am 7 years older than one of my sisters and we LOVE it. We have the best relationship! 

So no I don't ever wish....I am completely happy!

Snickerdoodles

One of my most favorite cookies to make this time of year is Snickerdoodles. They are a classic cookie that is really easy to make and is always a favorite! I turn to my favorite cookbook the Better Homes and Garden cookbook for the recipe. Here is a link to their cookbook online as well for the recipe.  http://www.bhg.com/recipe/desserts/snickerdoodles/
Here is what you are going to need:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup of sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. 

2. In a small mixing bowl combine the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in the sugar-cinnamon mixture to coat. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool. Makes about 36 cookies. 

Photo Card

Two Elves Holiday

Turn your family photos into holiday cards this season.

View the entire collection of cards.

Now The Brightest Crayon in the Box!

So I am sure if you have a young child like myself they probably have way more crayons than necessary. In fact when I go through Taylor's activity drawer there are half broken crayons everywhere and about 10 more boxes of crayons she has yet to use of which I have no idea how they all got there. Well look no further there is a way to put to use those broken crayons rather than throwing them away. I saw this on Pinterest awhile back and decided to try it now as it would make a cute gift to give to Taylor's teacher for Christmas.
You will need a silicon bakeware pan with whatever design you want. Being that this is Christmas time I got one with gingerbread men. And of course you will need crayons...lots of crayons!

First, preheat the oven to 230 degrees.
 Get all the crayons together and get the crayon wrappers off.

Cut the crayons so that they are in little chunks.
Place them in the silicone bakeware like so. 

Bake them for 15 minutes. Let them cool until they are hard again.

They will be easy to pop out and you don't have to worry about them breaking either.

They make great gifts for the for goodie bags, teachers, or just for the kids to use around the house.

Happy Crafting!

Merry Christmas!

We braved the mall last night to do some Christmas shopping and of course you can't go to the mall with two kids without going to see Santa. That is like going to Disney World and not seeing Mickey! So needless to say after a two hour wait which included Santa going to "feed his reindeer" aka take a 30 minute break, the girls finally got to sit in Santa's lap. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

I think of one my favorite things about Christmas is decorating. Of course it is fun to go buy new decorations every year especially the day after Christmas because you can't beat getting them 75% off! But one of my especially favorite ways to decorate is to make your own! Anyone who is a crafting addict like myself knows all about Michael's (if they had a savings card that would be even better)! There are so many different crafts you can do there to decorate your house it is unreal but I have just one quick one that I did and took maybe 5 minutes and $10 bucks.

I took a vase that I normally have wine corks in for decorations and put the corks in a plastic bag and put them away. I got some gold beading, red and gold balls and mini pinecones with hints of gold on them from Michaels. They have many different colors but those are the ones I chose.
I took the beading and made a layer around edges of the inside of the vase. Then I added some balls to the vase. I filled it up a little and then added some more beading around the edges and then more balls and so on until I made it to the top. Really simple right!!! It looks nice and is a good decoration for anywhere in the house and the best part is that it is super quick to do!

Happy Crafting!

Santa's Magic Key

For anyone out there who doesn't have a chimney like me I am sure at some point your kid(s) have asked how Santa brings the presents on Christmas Eve. Before I have always told Taylor that he comes through the front door but never anything special about it. Well while I was perusing one of my favorite websites Pinterest (I am a confirmed addict to it!) I saw a pin about Santa's Magic Key.
Basically it is a key that Santa can use to get in the house and bring your presents. It is super easy to make also! I think the hardest part was making up the poem. Since I didn't invent the idea of the Magic Key I wanted to at least be creative and make up a different poem to put with the key than what was already out there.

So what you will need:
Skeleton Key- Michael's has them in their dollar bins
Ribbon to tie the key on
Paper to print the poem out on...it can be any kind of paper you want
Scrapbook paper to glue the poem to
Glue and Scissors
Hole Punch

Figure out the poem you would like to use. Mine is below but there are others out there on the internet you can use. Then print it out and cut it out making a template of a design for the tag you want to use.
Mine is a fairly simple one as you can see from the picture. Make a bigger replica of the template for the scrapbook paper to use as the backing. Glue the poem to the scrapbook paper. You can use a hole punch or any punch thing that makes a decorative hole. I used one that made a snowflake shaped hole. Tie the key to the poem using the ribbon. Also you can make another bow to use for when you hang up the key to the door as well.

Feel free to use my poem if you would like:

Dear Santa,
This old key is a magical kind,
and we're leaving it for you to find
So take the key and open the lock,
but we are sleeping so please don't knock
Just leave the presents under the tree,
and have some cookies and milk from me.

Love,
(Insert family name here)

Then just let the kids hang it on the door on Christmas Eve for Santa to get in!

Happy Crafting!